Suggested Trade Sees Oilers & Predators Completing Offseason Blockbuster – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are currently focused on trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 1990, and coming up short in the Stanley Cup Final for two straight seasons to the Florida Panthers should give them some extra motivation, and this time around, they won’t have to go through the Panthers, who missed the playoffs.

The Nashville Predators made a late push and were surprisingly close to making the playoffs, but they weren’t able to earn a berth in the postseason. As they head back to the drawing board heading into the offseason, it seems possible that they might be willing to blow things up and start fresh.

Barry Trotz will be stepping down as the Predators’ general manager, and under new leadership, they could look to change things out of the gate and move on from some of their core pieces. Steven Stamkos’ name has come up in the past, but he isn’t someone that the Oilers would likely be interested in bringing in. However, there are other players they could try to pry away from them.

The Predators, on the other hand, would have to be willing to embrace a rebuild. This could likely mean moving out goaltender Juuse Saros, who would have the most trade value in comparison to any of their other pieces they could move.

If the Predators considered moving Saros, he would be the key target in any deal for the Oilers, and there is a world in which the two teams could pull off an offseason blockbuster if everything lines up correctly.

Keep in mind, this deal is simply hypothetical. There have been rumblings that the Oilers are considering moving on from Nurse this offseason, but no reports are claiming Saros would ever become available.

Predators Would Have to Be Flexible

For the Oilers to pull off a deal involving Saros, the Predators would have to be willing to take on Darnell Nurse. Now, it sounds crazy, but Nurse is entering the last season where he can leverage his no-movement clause and decide where he goes, and more playing time with the Predators could be appealing. If he is willing to waive for the Predators, this deal becomes much easier to pull off.

Saros also has a full no-movement clause, meaning he would have to be willing to waive for the Oilers. Realistically, if the Predators are going to go through a full rebuild, he will likely be willing to join a contender, especially one where he will be the starter as they try to push for a Stanley Cup.

Obviously, the Predators wouldn’t accept a Nurse-for-Saros swap straight up, but moving those two contracts for each other makes the money work for both sides. On top of that, the Oilers would have to attach prospects and draft picks, likely Quinn Hutson, Beau Akey, a future first-round pick, a future second-round pick, and a future third-round pick.

This deal gives the Oilers the starting goaltender they have been looking for. While Connor Ingram has been really solid, bringing in someone like Saros, who is an upgrade on Tristan Jarry, would help the Oilers immensely.

For the Predators, they are adding a veteran defender who has a ton of experience in the postseason, on top of two promising prospects and three draft picks. This is a massive haul for bringing in a bad contract in Nurse, as well as moving on from their star goaltender.

The Oilers likely win this deal out of the gates, but considering the Predators need to start fresh and revamp the entirety of their roster, doing something like this benefits both teams.

Adding prospects and picks will be key as the Predators aim to get back into contention within the next couple of seasons. Bringing in prospects who are close to NHL-ready, like Hutson, will be key as they look to get younger and force themselves to go through some dark days before they start to become contenders again.

Moving on from Saros is a tough decision to make, but they would benefit from taking advantage of a massive haul in a trade return, and the Oilers have the assets to make it work.

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